Carboxylic Amides and Lactams
Carboxylic Amides and Lactams
An amide, or an acid amide, is a compound with the functional group -C(=O)N(R1R2). Cyclic amides are called lactams. Lactam compounds would be either secondary or tertiary amides. Lactams, depending on the ring size, bear the name alpha-lactam (3 ring atoms), beta-lactam (4 ring atoms), gamma-lactam (5 ring atoms), delta-lactam (6 ring atoms) or epsilon-lactam (7 ring atoms). The beta-lactam ring is part of the core structure of several antibiotic families, for example, penicillins, cephalosporins, carbapenems, and monobactams. Amides undergo various chemical reactions usually through an attack on the carbonyl group. There are many renowned organic reactions which involve amides, including, the Hofmann rearrangement and the Vilsmeier-Haack reaction.
